Clifford I Voss, Ph.D.
Dr. Clifford Voss is a USGS Emeritus Scientist with the Water Resources Mission Area with over 40 years of project management, implementation, field and research experience in groundwater systems.
Dr. Clifford Voss is a USGS Emeritus Scientist with over 40 years of project management, implementation, field and research experience in groundwater systems. He deals with theoretical, field and practical issues in quantitative hydrogeology including: physics of subsurface fluids, computer model development and application to scientific evaluation of hydrogeologic systems, groundwater resources development and protection, coastal/island groundwater resources, subsurface energy production/storage, subsurface waste isolation, and cold-regions hydrology.
Dr. Voss is recognized as an international expert on groundwater modeling. He consults extensively on groundwater system evaluation and management, and lectures internationally on these and related subjects. The practical methodology and codes that Voss and his colleagues have developed (SUTRA and SutraSuite) are in standard use worldwide in subsurface assessment, aiding in quantity-quality management of groundwater resources and in evaluation of human impacts on the subsurface environment. These codes also allow development of a deeper understanding of important hydrogeologic processes.
His current interests involve: subsurface flow/transport in heterogeneous hydrogeologic media, cold-regions hydrology, development and application of practical methodology and subsurface hydrology simulation codes (SUTRA and SutraSuite) with freeze/thaw for study of ground-ice and permafrost in cold regions and associated code-benchmark development, flow and transport in variable-density subsurface fluids (seawater, brine, hot/cold groundwater), inverse modeling, network design, optimization of groundwater management, use of isotopes in characterizing subsurface systems, and the climate/ecology/society/water nexus.
Dr. Voss has conducted many crucial subsurface resource understanding and management studies, including: nuclear waste repository siting safety and performance (Sweden, Germany, Japan), coastal aquifer and seawater intrusion management (Hawaii USA, other USA, and worldwide), transboundary aquifer management (Nubian Aquifer of Egypt, Libya, Chad, Sudan); sustainability of arsenic-free groundwater supply (Bengal Delta Aquifer of India, Bangladesh); discovering the dynamics of cold-regions hydrologic systems (Canada, China, Greenland/Denmark, Sweden, USA).
Dr. Voss is Executive Editor of "Hydrogeology Journal" the official journal of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (since 1994).
Science and Products
Most atolls will be uninhabitable by the mid-21st century because of sea-level rise exacerbating wave-driven flooding
Groundwater flow and heat transport for systems undergoing freeze-thaw: Intercomparison of numerical simulators for 2D test cases
The role of frozen soil in groundwater discharge predictions for warming alpine watersheds
Seawater-flooding events and impact on freshwater lenses of low-lying islands: Controlling factors, basic management and mitigation
The role of uplift and erosion in the persistence of saline groundwater in the shallow subsurface
Influence of vertical and lateral heat transfer on permafrost thaw, peatland landscape transition, and groundwater flow
Effect of permafrost thaw on the dynamics of lakes recharged by ice-jam floods: case study in Yukon Flats, Alaska
Fluid pressure responses for a Devil's Slide-like system: problem formulation and simulation
Understanding heat and groundwater flow through continental flood basalt provinces: insights gained from alternative models of permeability/depth relationships for the Columbia Plateau, USA
Analytical solutions for benchmarking cold regions subsurface water flow and energy transport models: one-dimensional soil thaw with conduction and advection
Climate change impacts on the temperature and magnitude of groundwater discharge from shallow, unconfined aquifers
New permafrost is forming around shrinking Arctic lakes, but will it last?
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Most atolls will be uninhabitable by the mid-21st century because of sea-level rise exacerbating wave-driven flooding
Sea levels are rising, with the highest rates in the tropics, where thousands of low-lying coral atoll islands are located. Most studies on the resilience of these islands to sea-level rise have projected that they will experience minimal inundation impacts until at least the end of the 21st century. However, these have not taken into account the additional hazard of wave-driven overwash or its imAuthorsCurt D. Storlazzi, Stephen B. Gingerich, Ap van Dongeren, Olivia Cheriton, Peter W. Swarzenski, Ellen Quataert, Clifford I. Voss, Donald W. Field, Hariharasubramanian Annamalai, Greg A. Piniak, Robert T. McCallGroundwater flow and heat transport for systems undergoing freeze-thaw: Intercomparison of numerical simulators for 2D test cases
In high-elevation, boreal and arctic regions, hydrological processes and associated water bodies can be strongly influenced by the distribution of permafrost. Recent field and modeling studies indicate that a fully-coupled multidimensional thermo-hydraulic approach is required to accurately model the evolution of these permafrost-impacted landscapes and groundwater systems. However, the relativelyAuthorsChristophe Grenier, Hauke Anbergen, Victor F. Bense, Quentin Chanzy, Ethan Coon, Nathaniel Collier, François Costard, Michel Ferry, Andrew Frampton, Jennifer M. Frederick, Julio Gonçalvès, Johann Holmén, Anne Jost, Samuel Kokh, Barret L. Kurylyk, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, John W. Molson, Emmanuel Mouche, Laurent Orgogozo, Romain Pannetier, Agnès Rivière, Nicolas Roux, Wolfram Rühaak, Johanna Scheidegger, Jan-Olof Selroos, René Therrien, Patrik Vidstrand, Clifford I. VossThe role of frozen soil in groundwater discharge predictions for warming alpine watersheds
Climate warming may alter the quantity and timing of groundwater discharge to streams in high alpine watersheds due to changes in the timing of the duration of seasonal freezing in the subsurface and snowmelt recharge. It is imperative to understand the effects of seasonal freezing and recharge on groundwater discharge to streams in warming alpine watersheds as streamflow originating from these waAuthorsSarah G. Evans, Shemin Ge, Clifford I. Voss, Noah P. MolotchSeawater-flooding events and impact on freshwater lenses of low-lying islands: Controlling factors, basic management and mitigation
An unprecedented set of hydrologic observations was collected after the Dec 2008 seawater-flooding event on Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. By two days after the seawater flooding that occurred at the beginning of dry season, the observed salinity of water withdrawn by the island’s main skimming well increased to 100% seawater concentration, but by ten days later alreAuthorsStephen B. Gingerich, Clifford I. Voss, Adam G. JohnsonThe role of uplift and erosion in the persistence of saline groundwater in the shallow subsurface
In many regions of the world, the shallow (<300 m) subsurface is replenished with meteoric recharge within a few centuries or millennia, but in some regions saline groundwater persists despite abundant rainfall. Analyses of the flushing rate of shallow groundwater usually consider the permeability and recharge rate and a static landscape. The influence of landscape evolution can become important oAuthorsRichard M. Yager, Kurt J. McCoy, Clifford I. Voss, Ward E. Sanford, Richard B. WinstonInfluence of vertical and lateral heat transfer on permafrost thaw, peatland landscape transition, and groundwater flow
Recent climate change has reduced the spatial extent and thickness of permafrost in many discontinuous permafrost regions. Rapid permafrost thaw is producing distinct landscape changes in the Taiga Plains of the Northwest Territories, Canada. As permafrost bodies underlying forested peat plateaus shrink, the landscape slowly transitions into unforested wetlands. The expansion of wetlands has enhanAuthorsBarret L. Kurylyk, Masaki Hayashi, William L. Quinton, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Clifford I. VossEffect of permafrost thaw on the dynamics of lakes recharged by ice-jam floods: case study in Yukon Flats, Alaska
Large river floods are a key water source for many lakes in fluvial periglacial settings. Where permeable sediments occur, the distribution of permafrost may play an important role in the routing of floodwaters across a floodplain. This relationship is explored for lakes in the discontinuous permafrost of Yukon Flats, interior Alaska, using an analysis that integrates satellite-derived gradients iAuthorsSteve M. Jepsen, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Clifford I. Voss, Jennifer R. RoverFluid pressure responses for a Devil's Slide-like system: problem formulation and simulation
This study employs a hydrogeologic simulation approach to investigate subsurface fluid pressures for a landslide-prone section of the central California, USA, coast known as Devil's Slide. Understanding the relative changes in subsurface fluid pressures is important for systems, such as Devil's Slide, where slope creep can be interrupted by episodic slip events. Surface mapping, exploratory core,AuthorsMatthew A. Thomas, Keith Loague, Clifford I. VossUnderstanding heat and groundwater flow through continental flood basalt provinces: insights gained from alternative models of permeability/depth relationships for the Columbia Plateau, USA
Heat-flow mapping of the western USA has identified an apparent low-heat-flow anomaly coincident with the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, a thick sequence of basalt aquifers within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). A heat and mass transport model (SUTRA) was used to evaluate the potential impact of groundwater flow on heat flow along two different regional groundwater flow paths. LAuthorsErick R. Burns, Colin F. Williams, Steven E. Ingebritsen, Clifford I. Voss, Frank A. Spane, Jacob DeAngeloAnalytical solutions for benchmarking cold regions subsurface water flow and energy transport models: one-dimensional soil thaw with conduction and advection
Numerous cold regions water flow and energy transport models have emerged in recent years. Dissimilarities often exist in their mathematical formulations and/or numerical solution techniques, but few analytical solutions exist for benchmarking flow and energy transport models that include pore water phase change. This paper presents a detailed derivation of the Lunardini solution, an approximate aAuthorsBarret L. Kurylyk, Jeffrey M McKenzie, Kerry T. B. MacQuarrie, Clifford I. VossClimate change impacts on the temperature and magnitude of groundwater discharge from shallow, unconfined aquifers
Cold groundwater discharge to streams and rivers can provide critical thermal refuge for threatened salmonids and other aquatic species during warm summer periods. Climate change may influence groundwater temperature and flow rates, which may in turn impact riverine ecosystems. This study evaluates the potential impact of climate change on the timing, magnitude, and temperature of groundwater discAuthorsBarret L. Kurylyk, Kerry T.B MacQuarrie, Clifford I. VossNew permafrost is forming around shrinking Arctic lakes, but will it last?
Widespread lake shrinkage in cold regions has been linked to climate warming and permafrost thaw. Permafrost aggradation, however, has been observed within the margins of recently receded lakes, in seeming contradiction of climate warming. Here permafrost aggradation dynamics are examined at Twelvemile Lake, a retreating lake in interior Alaska. Observations reveal patches of recently formed permaAuthorsMartin A. Briggs, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Clifford I. Voss, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, John W. Lane - Software